Adapted by Ronald
Hamner and Phil Park
From the stage play
by Charles K. Freeman
After Warner Bros.
Film written by James O’Hanlon
Lyrics by Paul
Francis Webster
Music by Sammy Fain
Directed by Richard
Carroll
One Eyed Man productions
in association with Neglected Musicals & Hayes Theatre Co.
The Playhouse,
Canberra Theatre Centre to 19 August
Reviewed by Len Power
16 August 2018
It can be hard to warm to a new stage version of a beloved movie
classic especially when that movie had an iconic performer in the leading
role. In 1953, Doris Day played rough,
tough Calamity Jane in a colourful original movie musical with great songs. It was itself reminiscent of Irving Berlin’s earlier
stage musical, ‘Annie Get Your Gun’.
Richard Carroll’s production takes the story elements and
the songs from the movie and subsequent stage version and fashions them into an
entertainment that is an original take on the material. The result instantly grabs you and gives you
one of the most entertaining nights in the theatre imaginable.
Set in Deadwood, South Dakota in the American Old West, the
farcical story centres on the life of Wild West heroine Calamity Jane and her rocky
romance with Wild Bill Hickok. Most of
the plot takes place in the Golden Garter saloon bar and the small cast are
joined onstage by a group of audience members who find themselves drawn into
the action.
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| Virginia Gay and cast with onstage audience members - Photo by Jeff Busby |
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| Virginia Gay and cast - Photo by John McRae |
The seven other cast members play a high energy group of crazy
characters who display a real humanity as well as being hilariously funny. Musical director, Nigel Ubrihien, is the
saloon’s piano player and is just as funny as the rest of the cast while playing
the appealing musical numbers. Various
cast members also play musical instruments in the show, too.
The attractive saloon bar set designed by Lauren Peters has
a simplicity and period feel that works very well. The use of the lights strung above the stage
to give a barroom atmosphere also work nicely as a starry sky for ‘The Black
Hills of Dakota’ song. The costumes by Peters
have been thoughtfully designed in keeping with the period. Calamity Jane’s wedding dress, for example, looks
like it was made by someone with little money and with whatever materials could
be found in an old West town in that period.
From start to finish, this was a hugely enjoyable show with
great performances from every member of the cast. It’s a show that will be remembered with as
much affection as the classic movie, but for its own special reasons.
Len Power’s reviews
are also broadcast in his ‘On Stage’ performing arts radio program on Mondays
and Wednesdays from 3.30pm on Artsound FM 92.7.